Injuries, Injuries, Injuries! There
are 12 returning starters coming back at Brigham Young
and 9 of them sat out the spring Blue-White game. Some
will likely return and some won't. Coach LaVell Edwards
enters his 29th season and once again feels his team
has a chance to have a good football team. It surely
won't be easy as the Cougars possess the toughest schedule
in school history traveling nearly 11,000 miles while
playing three games on the East Coast against tough
opponents. Depth will be the major issue as BYU can
not afford any more injuries like the end of last season.
All eyes will be on a huge quarterback battle with coaches
claiming they will not be picking a starter until the
fall starts. Ouch! Although the QB personel may be solid,
the defending National Champions will greet the youngsters
in the 100+ degree August Florida heat as BYU travels
to Jacksonville to play in the Pigskin Classic against
FSU. Probably not a good way to start off especially
with depth concerns. Following that up will be road
trips to Virginia and Syracuse and a home date with
Mississippi State. The road will be tough, but BYU still
sits atop the Mountain West Conference.
Projected record: 8-5

Strengths: The Cougars
top senior trio of wide receivers from a year ago is where it
all starts. The cast will be led by Margin Hooks who needs 943
yards to become BYU's all time leading receiver. Last year he
totaled 60 receptions and 7 touchdowns for 1,067 yards. Together
with Horton and Pittman Coach LaVelle Edwards has said there
is a good chance this crew will be as good as there has been
in a while at BYU. Throwing them the pigskin will be anyone's
guess. There are three QB's who will see action next fall and
none of them are clear cut starters at this point. The names
are Bret Engemann, Charlie Peterson, and Brandon Doman and all
three are quality players. But one has to go back to 1995 to
find the last time a starting QB has been named in the spring
and even the early 1980's to find the next time it happened.
Just ask the QB coach Robbie Bosco who led the Cougars to a
1984 National Championship. A legend will be kicking this season
as Owen Pochman readies for his fourth season as a starter.
The record setting kicker will put most of his kick-offs out
of the end zone and was 20-24 in the field goal category in
'99.

Weaknesses: The running
back position will be a huge question mark as the Cougar offense
may start the 2000 season with a completly new backfield. At
tailback it is likely that last years Mountain West Freshman
of The Year, Luke Staley, will redshirt with knee and shoulder
injuries and Fahu Tahi may also sit out with an injury or a
famous LDS mission call. And veteran fullback Kalani Sitake
is recovering from a fractured foot. So next years backfield,
which finished last in the conference in rushing, may be either
loaded or empty. Last season the offensive line took alot of
major heat for BYU's late season drop-off and needs to develope
some new players in the middle. Just like most positions, injuries
have plagued the line everywhere but it seems that all should
be healed by fall. Although the QB situation can be looked at
in two ways, a weakness or a strength, there is no doubt the
fans in Provo will miss the MWC's leading quarterback from last
season, Kevin Feterik, who threw for 292 yards per game.

Strengths: Three returning
starters will shine on the defensive line in 2000 with Chris
Hoke, Hans Olsen, and Setema Gali. BYU led the Mountain West
in almost every statistic last year finishing second in total
pass defense and #1 in rush defense (81.7 yards/game), total
points allowed (14.0) and sacks. Setema Gali led the conference
in the sack column totaling six of them. In the backfield coaches
feel there is not a better safety anywhere then senior Jared
Lee who had 4 picks in 1999 and a whopping 96 tackles. Two talented
Junior College players, Derrus Wilson and Danny Phillips, are
expected to step in and solidify the cornerback spot again making
it the second time in three years that transfers will need to
play a vital roll at DB.

Weaknesses: Injuries have
slowed a promising linebacker group as three of them have sat
out the spring. Not to mention the fact that super middle man
Rob Morris has moved on after leading the team in tackles last
year. It will be key that Jeff Holtry step in at middlebacker
and produce tackles. Josh Lowe has serious back problems and
he may not play. That would be a big loss and create a major
depth problem for Coach Edwards. Depth will also be a problem
up front where there are three tackles and three ends, but after
that a huge drop-off. Two new cornerbacks will need to be broken
in and they will get tested as departing star Brian Gray saw
many opposing quarterbacks never throw in his direction.